NOTE #1: The groups/ships we call out above are meant to highlight stories where those two characters (Draco/Harry, Snape/Harry, NextGen character A/NextGen character B, Draco/Hermione, Harry/Hermione, Hogwarts Staff & Spirits character A/Hogwarts Staff & Spirits character B, and Marauders character A/Marauders character B) are the main characters of the tale and the plot revolves around those two characters and their relationship, whatever that may be. The relationship can be any of these: romantic, sexual, sharing a blood or marital or familial obligatory relation, friendship only, enemies, a mentorship, co-workers, forced partners, customer/client, living together or nearby each other, rooming together, sharing a common interest/hobby/condition, on an adventure together, co-dependence, hurt/comfort, Master/slave, prisoner/captor, or even an accidental run-in.

NOTE #2: Gen Fic category is for non-sexual and non-romantic stories. No specific ships allowed for this category.

· Nominations period: April 1st - April 28th

· Voting period: May 1st - June 30th

· Winners announced: by July 10th

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FALL & WINTER ROUND

· The only fanfics that qualify for this Round’s Nomination period

COMPLETED fics only (no WIPs), those written between October 29th the year prior until October 28th of this year

Threesomes+ (any three or more characters who are the main focus of the fic together - their romantic or sexual relationship constitutes the main plot of the story)

Weasley-Prewett Love (only Arthur Weasley, Molly Prewett-Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley, FredWeasley, George Weasley, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fleur Delacour-Weasley, Angelina Johnson-Weasley, Audrey Weasley, Hermione Granger-Weasley, Septimus Weasley, Cedrella Black-Weasley, Gideon Prewett, Fabian Prewett x each other - in anycouple combination with each other, in any type of relationship you want; Next Gen characters [Victoire Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Louis Weasley, Molly Weasley II, Lucy Weasley, Fred Weasley Jr., Roxanne Weasley, Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley] are allowed too, but can only be paired with Weasleys-Prewetts not in their same generation [see comments below this post for examples] - in any couple combination not of the same gen, in any type of relationship you want - no Romione, no NextGenxNextGen characters as they have their own groups)

Rare Pairs (anyone without a Group already assigned to them - see examples in the COMMENTS section below this post)

NOTE #1: The groups/ships we call out above are meant to highlight stories where those two characters (Snape/Hermione, Sirius/Remus, Dark Side character A/Dark Side character B, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Weasley character A/Weasley character B, and Rare Pair character A/Rare Pair character B) are the main characters of the tale and the plot revolves around those two characters and their relationship, whatever that may be. The relationship can be any of these: romantic, sexual, sharing a blood or marital or familial obligatory relation, friendship only, enemies, a mentorship, co-workers, forced partners, customer/client, living together or nearby each other, rooming together, sharing a common interest/hobby/condition, on an adventure together, co-dependence, hurt/comfort, Master/slave, prisoner/captor, or even an accidental run-in.

NOTE #2: Threesome+ stories are not Gen Fic stories. These specifically call-out for romance or sex in the story, and must feature three or more people engaging in this type of relationship together (not separately).

· Nominations period: October 1st - October 28th

· Voting period: November 1st - December 31st

· Winners announced: by January 10th

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2. The Nomination Period

Nominations open at 12:00 am PST on their indicated start date above, and close at 11:59 pm PST on their end date above.

You may nominate any "Harry Potter" fanfic (no Crossovers) for a particular Round that has been written between the timelines indicated above.

A single individual may only make one (1) nomination per Category per Group (see list of Categories below & the list of Groups above).

Yes, you may nominate the same story across multiple Categories within a Group (ship), if you want

You may not nominate your own stories.

Please do not beg, bribe, cajole, dare, or otherwise talk others into nominating one of your stories.

NO DO OVERS or TAKE BACKS!!! Once you submit your nominations, they are locked-in, unless there is a problem with them (for example, they were written outside of the allowable timeline for the Round, or they have been previously nominated).

Once the nomination closing date is up, no more nominations will be accepted for that Round. No exceptions.

Nominations will be compiled at the end of the Nomination period for each Round. Qualifying fics will go forward into the Voting Period. Non-Qualifying fics will be removed from the list, and the nominator will be informed of the reason.

Do not cheat and nominate several times under different email addresses. If you're caught cheating, you will be permanently banned from the awards ceremony.

1. A story where major characters in the fic were never born, or their characters are significantly changed from the novels, or whose actions in the fic change the outcome of the novels. - Merope Gaunt aborts Tom, Lily Evans marries Snape, Neville is a Squib, Draco is a Veela and can't get the Dark Mark, Voldemort kills Harry, Cedric never touches the Goblet of Fire, Dobby was never a free elf, Dumbledore lost the duel with Grindewald, Salazar Slytherin murdered Helga Hufflepuff, etc.

2. A story involving the HP cast set in a different time period from their own. - Victorian London, Medieval Germany, Ancient Greece, the year 2180, etc. Can include Time-Turner stories, so long as the actions of the trip into the past or future change the events in the novel.

3. The HP cast set in a different world completely. - A world without magic (everyone's a Muggle), or a trip through Wonderland, or a scenario where everyone meets during WW2 and are holocaust survivors, or a story where Hogwarts was never founded and everyone goes to Durmstrang and Beauxbatons instead, or a story that is a crossover (these fics cannot feature any non-HP characters in major roles in the fic. For example, if you want Harry to play Luke Skywalker, every character in the tale must be HP characters established as Star Wars characters, too - Hermione would be Leia, Ron would be Han Solo, etc).

4. A story that changes the Epilogue. - Harry's in an openly gay relationship, or Hermione/Ron divorced, or Scorpius Malfoy was never born, or Teddy Lupin died in a childhood car accident, etc.

5. Head canon that follows the time line and events that happen in the novels is not considered A/U for this contest.

TO NOMINATE A FANFIC:

When the Nominations are opened and is announced (it will be a separate post), copy-paste the following code for the Group/Ships you want, and add it as a COMMENT to that Nominations post announcement (or, you may email in your Nominations to: hpfanficfanpollmod@gmail.com or PM them to us here at hpfanficfanpoll). Fill in the information and submit. All submittals will be screened to keep the nature of the nominations secret.

**NOTE: You do not have to nominate a story for every Ship or Category, nor do you have to send all of your nominations in at one time. You can nominate stories for only the Ships/Groups and Categories you want, and you can send in your nominations piecemeal (for example: you can send in Best Drama-Angst, Best Het Smut, and Best Drabble for Snermione today, and tomorrow you can send in Best Comedy for Snermione, and next week you can send in Best Dark Fic for Snermione, Hinny, and Rare Pairs).

We will contact anyone who sends a nomination that is not complete and offer you the opportunity to correct the mistakes and resubmit it. If you do not resubmit the nomination with all of the correct information required your nomination will be rejected.

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3. The Voting Period

Voting opens at 12:00 am PST on their indicated start date above, and close at 11:59 pm PST on their end date above.

You do not have to vote in every Category or for every Group/ship, only the ones that interest you.

You do not have to cast all of your votes at one time. You may vote for a single Category today, three more tomorrow, two the week after that, etc.

You may NOT vote for your own stories if one of your fics is nominated.

A general announcement on your blog, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook page, etc. asking people to vote in the awards ceremony is OK. Asking them to vote for you, specifically, is not.

Once the voting closing date is up, no more votes will be accepted for that Round. No exceptions.

Voting will commence on those fanfics that were Nominated that met the criteria.

If you're caught cheating, you will be permanently banned from the awards ceremony.

TO VOTE FOR FANFICS:

When the Voting is announced (it will be a separate post), copy-paste the following code for the Group/Ships you want, and add it as a COMMENT to that Voting post announcement (or, you may email in your Votes to: hpfanficfanpollmod@gmail.com or PM them to us here at hpfanficfanpoll). Fill in the information and submit. All submittals will be screened to keep the nature of the voting secret.

For SPRING/SUMMER VOTING:

VOTING CODE FOR GEN FIC (non-romantic/non-sexual stories)

VOTING CODE FOR DRAMIONE (Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR DRARRY (Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR HARMONY (Harry Potter/Hermione Granger) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR HOGWARTS STAFF & SPIRITS FICS

VOTING CODE FOR MARAUDERS FICS

VOTING CODE FOR NEXT GEN/NEXT GEN FICS

VOTING CODE FOR THE SNARRY (Harry Potter/Severus Snape) FICS

FOR FALL/WINTER VOTING:

VOTING CODE FOR BLACK MOON/WOLFSTAR (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR HINNY (Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR ROMIONE (Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR SNERMIONE (Severus Snape x Hermione Granger) FICS

VOTING CODE FOR THE DARK SIDE FICS

VOTING CODE FOR THREESOMES+ FICS

VOTING CODE FOR WEASLEY-PREWETT LOVE FICS

VOTING CODE FOR RARE PAIRS FICS

.4. Results & Winners Information

At the end of the Voting period, votes will be tallied up by the members of the Awards Ceremony committee and double checked for accuracy.

If there are more than 3 nominees for a Ship's Category, the top 3 winners will be announced and receive a special Winner's banner.

In the case of 1 or 2 nominees only in a Ship's Category, a single winner will be announced.

In order for a nominee to actually 'win' a Category when there are 2 or fewer nominees in that Category, they must receive at least 1 vote from a member of the public. Stories that do not receive even 1 vote from the public will not win that Category, even if they are the only nominated story in that Category (they will receive a Nomination banner, but not a Winner banner).

Those stories who did not place in their Ship's/Group's Category will still receive a Nomination banner.

- any Next Gen character x another Next Gen character (anyone listed here)

- anyone x any Death Eater or Snatcher or Ministry official who worked with Voldemort's regime in canon or Voldemort/Tom Riddle x anyone (characters listed as members here and here and here + Pius Thicknesse